Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Contra Gentiles: A Guide and Commentary

505 Pages·2016·5.43 MB·English

by  Brian Davies

Thomas Aquinas’s
Summa Contra Gentiles

Thomas
Aquinas’s Summa
Contra Gentiles
A Guide and Commentary
z
BriAn DA vies
1
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Davies, Brian, 1952–
Title: Thomas Aquinas’s Summa contra gentiles:
a guide and commentary / Brian Davies.
Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2016. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015044427|
ISBN 978-0-19-045654-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) |
ISBN 978-0-19-045653-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, 1225?–1274.
Summa contra gentiles. | Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, 1225?–1274. |
Apologetics—Early works to 1800.
Classification: LCC BX1749.T45 D38 2016 |
DDC 239—dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015044427
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by Sheridan, USA
For Christopher Arroyo
and Paul Kucharski—once again.

Contents
Preface xvii
1. The Summa Contra Gentiles and Its Context 3
1.1 Aquinas’s Life 3
1.2 Aquinas’s Writings 5
1.3 When and Why Did Aquinas Write the Summa Contra Gentiles? 8
1.4 Aquinas Explains Himself 10
2. Approaching the Question of God’s Existence (SCG 1,10–12) 17
2.1 Kinds of Natural Theology (SCG 1,10–11) 17
2.2 Faith versus Demonstration (SCG 1,12) 22
2.3 Comments on the Above 25
2.3.1 Should Natural Theology Not Be Avoided Altogether? 26
2.3.2 “God Exists” as Self-Evident 32
3. Arguing for God’s Existence (SCG 1,13) 36
3.1 Argument One 36
3.1.1 “Everything That Is Moved Is Moved by Another” 38
3.1.2 “There Is No Procession to Infinity among Movers
and Things Moved” 40
3.2 Argument Two 42
3.3 Three More Arguments 44
3.3.1 The First Argument 44
3.3.2 The Second Argument 45
3.3.3 The Third Argument 45
3.4 What Has Aquinas Achieved in the Natural Theology Offered
in SCG 1,13? 45
viii Contents
3.4.1 Some Initial Problems 45
3.4.2 Aquinas on Motion in SCG 1,13 49
3.4.3 Aquinas on Efficient Causation 53
3.4.4 Existence and Nonexistence in SCG 1,13 54
4. God as Eternal and Simple (SCG 1,14–27) 56
4.1 Divine Eternity (SCG 1,15) 56
4.2 God as Lacking Passive Potency and Matter (SCG 1,16 and 17) 57
4.3 God as Noncomposite (SCG 1,18) 58
4.4 God as Simple (SCG 1,20–27) 59
4.5 Comments on Aquinas on Divine Simplicity 62
5. Talking about God (SCG 1,28–36) 72
5.1 The General Picture 72
5.2 SCG 1,28–36: Details 75
5.3 How to Assess SCG 1,28–36? 82
6. Goodness, Oneness, and Infinity (SCG 1,37–43) 85
6.1 Why Is It True That God Is Good? (SCG 1,37) 85
6.1.1 Comments on SCG 1,37 86
6.2 Is God Goodness Itself? (SCG 1,38) 87
6.3 Is there Evil in God? (SCG 1,39) 89
6.4 G od as the Good of Every Good and as the Highest Good
(SCG 1,40–41) 90
6.5 Oneness and Infinity (SCG 1,42–43) 90
6.6 A Note on Aquinas’s “God Is Good” and “There Is No
Evil in God” 93
6.6.1 Why Aquinas Might Be Thought to Be Wrong in
SCG 1,37–41 94
6.6.2 Responses to the Above 94
6.7 Moving On 98
7. God’s Knowledge (SCG 1,44–71) 99
7.1 Aquinas on Knowledge 99
7.2 Aquinas on God’s Knowledge (SCG 1,44–71) 102
7.2.1 God as Intelligent (SCG 1,44) 103
7.2.2 “God’s Understanding Is the Divine Essence” (SCG 1,45) 104
7.2.3 God Understanding through the Divine Essence and as
Understanding God (SCG 1,46–48) 104
Contents ix
7.2.4 God’s Knowledge of What Is Not God (SCG 1,49–50) 106
7.2.5 What God’s Knowledge Is Not (SCG 1,56–58) 106
7.2.6 S ome Specifics Concerning What God Knows Other Than
God (SCG 1,63–71) 108
7.3 Thinking about SCG 1,44–71 112
8. God’s Will, Life, and Blessedness (SCG 1,72–102) 116
8.1 Aquinas on Will 116
8.2 Aquinas on Life 118
8.3 Aquinas on Blessedness 120
8.4 Aquinas on Will in God (SCG 1,72–96) 121
8.4.1 There Is Will in God (SCG 1,72) 122
8.4.2 God’s Will Is God’s Essence (SCG 1,73) 122
8.4.3 God Principally Wills the Divine Essence (SCG 1,74) 122
8.4.4 In Willing Himself God Wills Other Things (SCG 1,75) 123
8.4.5 G od Wills Himself and Other Things by One Act of Will
(SCG 1,76) 123
8.4.6 T hat God Wills Many Things Does Not Undermine God’s
Simplicity (SCG 1,77) 124
8.4.7 God’s Will Extends to Singular Goods (SCG 1,78) 124
8.4.8 God Wills Things That Do Not Yet Exist (SCG 1,79) 125
8.4.9 G od Wills His Being and Goodness of Necessity
(SCG 1,80) 125
8.4.10 God Does Not Will Other Things Necessarily (SCG 1,81) 125
8.4.11 God Cannot Will What Is in Itself Impossible (SCG 1,84) 126
8.4.12 G od’s Will Does Not Abolish Contingency in Things and
Does Not Impose Absolute Necessity on Them
(SCG 1,85) 127
8.4.13 A Reason Can Be Assigned to the Divine Will
(SCG 1,86) 127
8.4.14 Nothing Can Be the Cause of God’s Willing (SCG 1,87) 128
8.4.15 There Is Free Choice in God (SCG 1,88) 128
8.4.16 T here Are No Passions of the Appetites in God
(SCG 1,89) 129
8.4.17 There Is Delight and Joy in God (SCG 1,90) 129
8.4.18 There Is Love in God (SCG 1,91) 129
8.4.19 Virtues Can Be Ascribed to God (SCG 1,92) 130